


Killing Me

by nexparker



Series: Blood On Your Hands [7]
Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 乐华七子NEXT | NEX7, 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: M/M, chengcheng is a crackhead in this sorry, doctor!yanchen, gang!awaken-f, gang!nex7, gangmember!zeren, gramarie, holy flashbacks, oaca, this is a mess, this is so violent im sorry, yuehua - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 20:31:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17250929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nexparker/pseuds/nexparker
Summary: “Your traces remain, and they torture me. It’s killing me.”





	Killing Me

**Author's Note:**

> Italics: Flashback (which is like, this entire chapter minus two sentences)
> 
> Word Count: 4.77k
> 
> Warnings: blood, swearing, kinda graphic descriptions of wounds, really inaccurate medicine, surgery, tropes, tooth-rotting fluff, SUGGESTIVE THEMES, SEMI-MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, EXTREME VIOLENCE
> 
> btw xukun and minghao are NOT DATING fyi they’re just friends bc minghao is still a minor and we don’t sexualize minors in this house!!

_**July 24th | ZEREN:** _

_Zeren didn’t really have much to say for himself at this point. He had just landed his ex-best friend in jail, and was now jobless, homeless, everything-less._

_“You’re free to go, Mr. Ding. Keep in mind you’re being watched.” The police officer standing next to him outside of the courtroom notified him. Zeren wasn’t paying attention. He was watching Mubo being led away by a group of guards.  
_

_‘What did I just do?’ the brunette asked himself, knowing that everything was going to be different now. Everything.  
_

* * *

**_July 27th | ZEREN:_ **

_Zeren groaned at the sunlight shining directly into his face. It was bouncing off the mirror of the car he had been sleeping in and directly into the driver’s seat._

_The car, an old, broken down truck, had been abandoned in the parking garage Zeren had called home ever since the trial. No one came to this garage anymore, seeing as the surrounding area wasn’t nearly as popular as it once was._

_The brunette was beginning to loathe the sun and everything it stood for as the light coming from it tore sleep away from him. He just wanted to sleep, seeing as how every minute Zeren was awake, he couldn’t stop thinking about how fucked he was._

_He hadn’t even told the court everything, which was technically lying. If they found out, Zeren could end up in prison himself. It’s best he kept a low profile for a while._

_He had nowhere to go, so he just stayed. Stayed in the car and tried to sleep. Stayed in the area looking for something to do._

_Running low on cash, Zeren knew he was going to need to find a new source of income before he starved. But that’s not exactly easy to do with a history of arrest._

_Sighing in discontent, Zeren slowly opened the door to the truck, before nearly collapsing trying to exit the vehicle. You wouldn’t believe how stiff one gets from sleeping in a car._

_At this point, there wasn’t really anything he could do. He was stuck. Very, very, unbelievably, yet undeniably stuck._

* * *

**_May 20th |_ _ZHENGTING_ :**

_“Will you cut it out? I’m trying to find the blueprints of the bank and you’re very distracting.” Zhengting whined.  
_

_“I’m distracting?? How so?” the figure kissing his neck asked.  
_

_Zhengting stiffened before turning around in his swivel chair, the glow of his laptop casting a bluish light around him._

_“You know how! I’m telling you, we only have one shot at this and the perfect opportunity is coming up.” he whined.  
_

_“We’re just robbing the bank, babe. Why are you so stressed out?” the other questioned.  
_

_“Do you not hear yourself? Robbing a bank is STRESSFUL.” Zhengting huffed, spinning back around to face the computer._

_“Y’know, stress really isn’t good for you. Maybe I should, help you... destress a little.” his boyfriend suggested, beginning to massage Zhengting’s shoulders.  
_

_“Oh my god. This is never going to get done.”  
_

_“Relax. Just let me help you...” the figure whispered, sending chills down the Zhengting’s spine.  
_

_Melting back into his boyfriend, Zhengting began his whining._

_“It’s not fair that you have this effect on me.”  
_

_“All’s fair in love and war, babe.”_

* * *

**_June 3rd | MINGHAO:_ **

_“What the hell are you doing now?”  
_

_“Oh, hi, Kun-ge.” Minghao replied, looking up from the can of spray paint he was fiddling with.  
_

_“You were going to paint, without me?” Xukun asked, feigning hurt with pouty lips and his head cocked to the side like a kicked puppy.  
_

_“No! I would never!” Minghao pretended to be taken aback by the accusation, placing his hand over his chest.  
_

_“Mhm, sure.”  
_

_Minghao rolled his eyes at his best friend._

_“Here,” tossing a can of paint to Xukun. “I saw this tunnel the other day that looked just a tad too barren to me. I figured that it was our civil duty to fix that.”  
_

_“Well... I believe that you may be right.” the older boy replied, flipping the can of paint in his hand and quirking his brows. “Let’s go,” he said as he handed the can back to Minghao._

_Hurriedly shoving supplies into a beaten up old backpack, the youngest tried to contain his excitement. Xukun tossed Minghao his sneakers before the two ducked out of their ancient apartment, careful not to disturb their neighbors at this time of night._

_The air outside was warm and muggy, making it feel almost as if Minghao was swimming outside of water every time he took a breath. He lead his best friend down a series of allies and empty streets, the streetlights serving them well._

_“It’s just down here.” the younger told his friend, nodding off towards the tunnel.  
_

_Entering the dimly lit space, Xukun pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight as the lights overhead weren’t providing enough light. He let his eyes scan over the bare walls, already envisioning the works of art soon to cover them._

_“This is perfect,” Xukun sent a smile in Minghao’s direction. “How did you find this place?”  
_

_“Not really sure. I think I just came upon it when I took a different route home from the market.” Minghao replied, setting down his backpack on the cracked cement.  
_

_“Huh, it must be a sign. Pass me a can of paint.” The older asked. Minghao threw him the can he had just pulled from his backpack. Xukun caught it easily and set it down on the ground a few feet away from the wall before propping his phone against it, providing more light so that they could see.  
_

_“There. Let’s get started.” Xukun said, dusting off his hands and moving towards the bag of supplies.  
_

_The two spent at least a couple of hours just painting, throwing in the occasional banter, causing laughter to bounce off the concrete walls of the tunnel. The smell of paint fumes clogged the air and made it harder to breathe, not that either boy minded. They were so used to it by this point that Minghao wondered if it had actually killed all of their brain cells and they just didn’t know it (that is, if they had any to begin with)._

_With tired arms, empty spray paint cans and minds delirious from lack of sleep, the friends relaxed on the pavement, watching their creations dry as they split a bag of chips and two bottles of soda._

_“What is yours even supposed to be? I can never tell.” Xukun asked Minghao._

_“HEY! It’s super obvious that it’s us! Maybe you’re just blind.” Minghao whined, pretending to be offended.  
_

_“That’s us?” Xukun squinted at the figures. “Last time I checked, I wasn’t a stick figure.”_

_“Shut up.” Minghao elbowed Xukun playfully. “What’s yours?”_

_“Not really sure. It’s kind of meant to be abstract, I guess.” the older replied, taking a sip of his drink.  
_

_“Since when did you become so profound?”  
_

_“Since always. You just never see this side of me.” Xukun scoffed.  
_

_“Okay, Socrates. What does it mean then?” Minghao teased.  
_

_“It’s kind of supposed to represent me and my connection to the world. Like how I get through things and how the world appears to me.” Xukun shrugged.  
_

_“You get through things by becoming a mess of colors on a wall?” Minghao asked, making the older roll his eyes._

_“No, dumbass. I mean that the world is a mess and that’s okay. Just because something is messy, that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful too.”  
_

_“Oh god. You take ONE philosophy class and suddenly you’re spewing shit like this.” Minghao groaned, lying down on his back._

_“Oh, shut up.” Xukun picked up a chip and chucked it in the direction of the youngest._

_“I bet you wish I would, Ge.”  
_

* * *

**_June 7TH | LINONG:_ **

_"Two coffees, please. Milk in one."_

_"Okay. Is that all?"_

_Linong nodded, handing a crumpled couple of dollars and a few random coins to the cashier. After being told that the drinks would 'be right out', the raven-haired boy moved to stand against the wall next to the pick-up area. Letting his back fall against the concrete, Linong took this opportunity to do what every other person in this situation did these days: go on his phone. He noticed the lack of notification bubbles on the messaging app and sighed._

_Quanzhe was supposed to text him when he was on his way. Linong guessed he had fallen asleep again. The kid was working so much these days._

_Clicking on the chat that he had with the blonde, Linong shot Quanzhe another text._

_**Linong | 3:32 pm** : hey man, you awake? i’m already at the coffee place._

_Locking his phone when he heard his order called, Linong slipped the device into his jacket pocket and took short strides over to the counter where he picked up the coffees._

_Scanning the room, Linong quickly found a table to sit at. He set Quanzhe’s coffee on the side opposite from him, hoping that the blonde would arrive before it got cold. He felt a buzz in his pocket, leading him to retrieve his phone once more._

_The notification on the lock screen displayed the text he had recieved from Quanzhe:_

_**Quanzhe | 3:37 pm:** crap sorry! i did fall asleep but i’m on my way now!_

_Linong sighed. He tried not to be annoyed, knowing that Quanzhe wasn’t exactly ‘breezing through life’ at the moment. But, still. They had set this meeting up weeks ago, seeing as it was one of the only dates that Linong had off work. The nurse tried not to think about how he could be sleeping and yet had instead chosen to venture outside and face the world._

_‘This is what friends do.’ Linong told himself, taking a sip of his coffee without milk.  
_

_He had been accustomed to working so many long shifts at the hospital that pure, black coffee was almost the only thing that could keep him upright and able to function when he was tired. Linong often wondered when he’d have to resort to pouring the coffee into an IV bag and injecting it directly into his bloodstream._

_Minutes later, the door to the coffee shop swung open, revealing a very disheveled Quanzhe. He was breathing hard with pink cheeks, clearly having sprinted here from his house nearby. His hair was a mess and Linong was sure that one of his shoes was untied as well. The dark circles under his eyes were very prominent as well._

_‘He really needs more sleep.’ Linong thought to himself, mentally frowning at how disoriented his friend appeared to be.  
_

_The blonde spotted his friend, moving quickly and very ungracefully over to the table Linong was seated at._

_“Glad you could make it.” the dark-haired one smiled at his friend, pushing his now-lukewarm coffee over to him.  
_

_“Sorry I’m late, These late shifts are really killing me,” Quanzhe panted. “Thanks for this.” He raised the coffee up in a gesture of appreciation before lifting it to his mouth and taking a couple of sips.  
_

_“I feel you there, bro.” Linong replied. He wasn’t entirely sure how to continue the conversation, hoping that the blonde would do it for him. When no words came from Quanzhe, Linong decided to try a basic question._

_“So, how are you doing?”  
_

_Don’t want to rock the boat just yet._

_“I’m alright. Work’s just been hard. Making ends meet really takes the energy right out of you.” Quanzhe responded, setting the coffee down.  
_

_“I can imagine,” Linong nodded. “Where is it that you’re working now? Sorry, I forgot the name of it.”  
_

_“Well, there’s two places. There’s the restaurant down on 8th that I work at in the evenings. The rest of the time, I’m at the corner store on Central.” Quanzhe explained._

_“Wait, you picked up another job?” Linong asked, ignoring the fact that his friend didn’t disclose the names of his workplaces.  
_

_“Yeah...” Quanzhe began to rub the back of his neck out of habit. “You know how it is. The corner store alone was covering the bills for electricity and rent, but the price of my mom’s medication went up again.”_

_Linong’s gut twinged with sympathy and guilt, despite the fact that he wasn’t involved._

_“Again?”  
_

_“Yeah. And since our insurance policy runs out in few months, they’re not covering the raise in costs.” the blonde sighed, clearly discontent with his situation.  
_

_“That’s terrible.” Linong replied. “Have you tried to contact the hospital?”_

_“I was on hold with them for 45 minutes yesterday. I’ve tried everything. They’ll flex when it comes to doing a free surgery for an olympic athlete with buckets of money, but when it comes to a guy just trying to care for his mother with diabetes, they just say fuck it.”  
_

_Linong raised his brows at the profanity that come from his friend. He wasn’t one to usually use language like that._

_Quanzhe noticed the look on the nurse’s face._

_“Sorry.” He apologized quickly. “I just don’t know what else to do.”  
_

_“No, no. It’s okay.” Linong replied. “I’m sorry you’re in this position.”  
_

_“It’s not your fault.” the blonde shot a small smile to his friend.  
_

_“Is there anything I can do to help?”  
_

_“Not really. Unless you know a guy I can sell my kidneys to for a couple thousand.”  
_

_Linong laughed at Quanzhe’s attempt at a joke, despite the worry deep in his gut that the blonde may actually resort to something of the nature down the line._

_“It’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. I just gotta keep working and looking for more ways to get money.” Quanzhe tried to reassure Linong.  
_

_“Well, if you ever need anything, you know how to reach me. Seriously. I may even be able to help on the medical side of things, if you really need it.” Linong offered.  
_

_“Of course. That really means a lot, bro. Thanks for everything.” Quanzhe offered a tired smile in return before chugging the rest of his coffee. “I have my shift in about 30 minutes, so I should probably get going.”_

_“Oh, okay. Well, text me.” Linong replied.  
_

_“Will do. See ya.” Quanzhe told him, standing up from the table, throwing away his now empty cup and pushing his way out of the cafe._

_‘God, I just hope he doesn’t do something he regrets...’ Linong thought, looking down at his cold coffee.  
_

* * *

**_June 22nd | CHENGCHENG:_ **

_Chengcheng’s phone buzzed on the wood of his nightstand and the boy swore he had never hated the fact that people cared about what he did more._

_He groaned in his sleep, feeling around the bed and then the nightstand for the device._

_“What now???” Chengcheng grunted sleepily, turning his phone around in his hand to be able to read the tiny font on the screen._

**_1 New Text Message_ **

_The person who sent this was the one who disturbed his sleep and in that moment, Chengcheng wished death upon that. That is, until he saw who the text was from._

_**Linkai | 9:23 am** : bro was this you?_

**_1 Attachment_ **

_Chengcheng clicked on the attachment and smiled lazily when he saw the news headline._

_“Three police cars discovered covered in Cling Wrap”.  
_

_Some of his best work. He considered himself a master of pranks and maybe a slight con-artist, but most of all, Chengcheng was an adrenaline junkie._

_He was sure he could write a book on this kind of thing with steps and everything if given the chance. For example:_

_**Step #1: Do the Dirty Work**. The boy admired his handiwork for a few more seconds before closing the attachment and returning to the chat with his best friend._

_**Chengcheng | 9:24 am:**  you bet your ass it was  
_

_**Linkai | 9:24 am:**  bro that is god-tier_

_**Linkai | 9:24 am:**  how tf did you pull that off_

_**Chengcheng | 9:25 am:**  lets just say it took 5 hours and around 200$ worth of cling wrap_

_**Chengcheng | 9:25 am:**  that store wasn’t very happy with me buying out their supply but it was so worth it_

_**Linkai | 9:25 am** : how did you not get caught_

_**Chengcheng | 9:25 am:**  i have my ways ;)_

**_Step #2: Never Reveal Your Methods._ **

_With that, Chengcheng locked his phone and let it fall onto the duvet on his bed, content with his work. Pushing himself up from the pillows, Chengcheng shuffled out of bed and to the bathroom. He needed a shower before doing anything else seeing as he smelled like a mix of sweat and whatever asphalt smelled like. It wasn’t a good combination._

_After spending a good 25 minutes in the shower, he was ready to take on the world. Parts of it anyways. Chengcheng was in the middle of pulling on a t-shirt when he heard the doorbell ring downstairs._

_Expecting it to be a package, Chengcheng finished getting dressed quickly and raced down the stairs (but still taking the time to slide down the rail). He didn’t hesitate to open the door, which is why he was surprised to see a police officer at the door. Well, somewhat surprised._

_“Oh, you’re not the shoes I ordered.” He frowned.  
_

_“It appears not, Mr. Fan.” the officer grimaced.  
_

_“Huh. Well. Better luck next time.” Chengcheng shrugged, starting to close the door before the officer held out his hand to block the door from closing completely.  
_

_“Hang on a second.” these were the words that made Chengcheng’s heart begin to race.  
_

_“Haha... Gotcha!” He joked, trying to cover his fumble but he knew he was done for.  
_

_“I’m sure you’ve seen the headlines about the fact that three of our cars were vandalized late last night.”  
_

_‘Vandalized? I wouldn’t call it vandalism... It’s more like decoration.’ Chengcheng thought.  
_

_“Nope.” Chengcheng lied through his teeth.  
_

_“Huh. That’s odd. We were sure you would have heard about it, especially seeing as you are the culprit.” the officer narrowed his eyes._

_“That’s a pretty strong accusation there. Are you sure you’ve got the right guy? There’s a lot of guys around here with a great sense of humor and a big head. There’s really no way of knowing it was me!” Chengcheng shrugged, letting his ‘natural charm’ (as he calls it) do the work for him._

_The officer bristled at this._

_“You happen to have a very long list of instances such as this under your name... Which leads me to believe that you may be the offender.” The officer tried to explain.  
_

_“Wow...” Chengcheng cocked his head. “Haven’t heard an explanation for a claim as bad as that one since my last essay.” He scrunched his nose.  
_

_“You are--” the officer started but Chengcheng cut him off.  
_

_“Innocent until proven guilty, officer. I’m afraid you can’t make arrests on suspicion without evidence. I mean, not to tell you how to do your job or anything...”  
_

_The officer clenched his jaw._

_“Come back when you have evidence of me doing it. Until then, you have a nice day now!” Chengcheng finished, quickly shutting the door in the officer’s face.  
_

**_Step #3: Know Your Rights When the Cops Come Knocking._ **

_Chengcheng ran back up to his room, looking out the window in order to watch the cops leave. He even waved to them as they drove away._

_“The King strikes again.” He smirked.  
_

* * *

**_June 4th | ZHENGTING:_ **

_“I’m not so sure getting this guy involved is a good idea.”  
_

_“Shut up. It’ll be fine. He’s great at what he does.” Zhengting reassured his boyfriend.  
_

_“He’s a arms salesman, Ting. What the fuck does he know about robbing a bank?”  
_

_Zhengting paused._

_“I-I don’t know. But listen, he’s our way in. His friend is a custodian there, so that means he can get us in after hours.” Zhengting tried to reason.  
_

_“What happens if he crosses us? Huh? Takes all the money for himself and leaves us to deal with the police? What are we going to do then?”_

_Zhengting rubbed his temples, knowing his boyfriend had a point.  
_

_“Babe, it’ll be okay. We’ll figure something out.” He replied quietly.  
_

_“All I’m saying is that if we’re going to take a risk this big, I don’t want to add insult to injury and get more people involved. It’s just too complicated.”  
_

_“I know, **Ziyi**.” Zhengting conceded, looking down at his hands from his place on the couch. “I’m just worried about getting in. You know how crazy security systems can get. Besides, I trust this guy.”   
_

_“This guy?” Ziyi did air quotes. “What is his name anyways?” he asked Zhengting.  
_

_Looking up, Zhengting supplied an answer._

_**“Han Mubo.”**  
_

* * *

**_June 15th | ZIYI:_ **

_Ziyi noticed his boyfriend wringing his hands. His nervous habit. He only did it when something was really bothering him._

_Moving towards Zhengting, Ziyi wrapped his arms around him from the back, encasing his hands in his to get him to stop._

_“You alright?” Ziyi asked softly.  
_

_Zhengting nodded._

_“Just anxious. I’ll be fine. You ready to go?” Zhengting quickly changed subjects, shrugging out of Ziyi’s grip.  
_

_‘Odd.’ Ziyi thought. ‘He’ll be better after it’s over.’ he brushed the concern for his boyfriend out of his mind._

_“Yup. You?” Ziyi offered an answer to Zhengting as he picked up the black backpack that carried his gun and other supplies off the floor and slung it over his shoulder.  
_

_“Mhm.” Zhengting hummed over his shoulder, turning off his phone and slipping it into the slit in his mattress, just as Ziyi had done minutes earlier.  
_

_If the police wanted to track them, they’d only be led here._

_Ziyi held out his hand for his boyfriend, looking at Zhengting expectantly. The brunette grabbed his hand, maybe a little too quickly. Almost as if he was pushing himself into doing this before he had a chance to think twice. Ziyi tried to ignore it._

_The pair left the apartment, knowing there was a chance they they might not return any time soon. They moved down the sidewalk, allowing the streetlights to guide their way. The moon overhead was hidden by some clouds adding another aspect to the surroundings that set Zhengting on edge._

_Not many other people were out, but the ones who were tended to ignore the couple. They had business to attend to, as did Ziyi and Zhengting._

_Upon reaching the pre-arranged meeting spot at around 11:41 pm, the couple was greeted with another pair of figures dressed in black, just as they were. They also wore masks over their faces, hiding everything except for their eyes._

_“Hey.” Ziyi greeted, sticking a hand out towards the taller of the two figures._

_“Hello.” the figure replied stiffly, shaking Ziyi’s hand. “Boogie, I presume?” he asked.  
_

_Ziyi nodded. He and Zhengting had agreed not to use their real names as a compromise when it came to involving help._

_“Nice. I’m Han Mubo. Who’s this?” Mubo nodded towards Zhengting.  
_

_“I’m Theo.” Zhengting spoke up, clenching his jaw. Ziyi almost laughed, because that’s only something Zhengting does to make himself seem more scary.  
_

_“This is Qin Fen.” Mubo gestured to his partner. “He’s going to be helping us get into this place. He said, placing a hand on Qin Fen’s shoulder in a friendly manner.  
_

_Qin Fen looked over at the hand on his shoulder before shrugging it off._

_“Anyways, I believe all the logistics have been taken care of?” Mubo asked.  
_

_“Each pair takes half.” Ziyi nodded.  
_

_“Good.”  
_

_Mubo looked over at Qin Fen. “Let’s go then.”_

_Ziyi walked closely behind Zhengting as they were led by Qin Fen to the back door of the bank, near the dumpsters. He was weary of his surroundings and was glad to see no one lucking nearby._

_Qin Fen swiped his key card, unlocking the heavy metal door. Zhengting moved inside quickly, eager to get out of the damp alley they were in behinds the bank._

_“Be quick, but stay quiet. The motion sensors are off for maintenance in the early morning. You should be fine.” Qin Fen explained lowly, leading the group down a series of hallways towards the safe. Ziyi looked around them, taking in what he could see of the dark corridor. He moved his hand towards Zhengting’s, grabbing it and squeezing it to reassure both his boyfriend and himself._

_The group wound up standing in front of the safe, staring at the impressive mechanisms in front of them._

_“It needs a code.” Zhengting observed.  
_

_“Thank you, captain obvious.” Mubo remarked.  
_

_Qin Fen stepped forward before turning around._

_“Once I do this, you’ll have five minutes before authorities arrive. I’ll be waiting outside. Just don’t get held up.” he explained.  
_

_“Wait, do wh-” Ziyi was cut off by the sound of Qin Fen smashing a metal bat into the keypad where the code was meant to be input. Immediately, an alarm started to blare, but the door to the safe swung open.  
_

_“See you on the other side.” Qin Fen commented before running out of the room and back down the hallways they had taken.  
_

_“What are you standing there for? Move!” Mubo yelled, already stuffing cash into the backpack he had somehow procured. Ziyi suspected he was wearing it under his coat.  
_

_Ziyi and Zhengting sprang forwards, beginning to shove money into every pocket of the bag and them some into their pockets for good measure. The alarm going off began to hurt Ziyi’s head, but he continued to move. There was no turning back now._

_“Let’s go!” Mubo yelled, noticing that around 4 minutes had gone by.  
_

_Ziyi quickly zipped up the backpack and threw it on his back before grabbing Zhengting’s hand for the last time that night and running like his life depended on it, because it did._

_Slamming the door open to the outside, Ziyi was sure that he was never happier to breathe the smog filled air of the city. The air was warm and damp, a stark contrast to the filtered, cold air that they had been breathing while inside the bank. But this was no time to sit back and enjoy the pleasantries, no, not at all. They had to run._

_Ziyi heard sirens over his shoulder and continued to half-drag Zhengting behind him as he sprinted down different alleyways and streets, following Mubo and now Qin Fen. They didn’t stop until the sounds of the sirens were distant, almost just a memory now._

_The group ducked inside a broken down, abandoned building, finally allowing themselves to catch their breath. Ziyi squat down on the cracked pavement, opening the backpack to inspect the contents._

_“We made it...” Zhengting panted.  
_

_“Good thing. I didn’t want to have to go back.” Mubo remarked. “So, if you’ll just hand over what you owe, I believe we can go our separate ways.”_

_“Wait, what?” Ziyi asked, still breathing hard.  
_

_“You know. The half you owe me?” Mubo raised his eyebrows.  
_

_“But you already got your money!” Zhengting protested.  
_

_“I got MY money. Now you need to pay me and give half of yours.” Mubo explained. Qin Fen squat quietly behind him, watching the whole debacle unfold.  
_

_“That wasn’t the deal!” Ziyi furrowed his brows.  
_

_“It was if you read the fine print. That’s on you, not me.” Mubo shrugged, reaching for the backpack between Zhengting and Ziyi.  
_

_“What? No! This is ours!” Zhengting tried to stop him. In reaction, Mubo pulled out his gun, aiming for Zhengting’s forehead._

_“No!” Ziyi shouted, pulling out his own gun in retaliation._

_“Hand it over.” Mubo ordered, keeping his gun aimed at Zhengting.  
_

_“Just give it to him, Ting.” Ziyi muttered through gritted teeth._

_“Awh, pet names? What happened to Theo?” Mubo smirked. Ziyi wanted to shoot him just for that remark.  
_

_“And risk going to prison with no reward? Never.” Zhengting replied, clenching his jaw again. Ziyi found it less funny with a gun pointed at his boyfriend’s head.  
_

_“Ting! Give it to him!” Ziyi pleaded, really not looking forward to the possibility of having to use his gun.  
_

_“No!” Zhengting yelled._

_Mubo shrugged. “Your choice.”_

_The next few moments happened in slow motion. Mubo took a sudden move, his gun now facing Ziyi. Before either of them could react, Mubo pulled the trigger, the gun fired._

_The bullet landed in Ziyi’s chest._

_“Like I said, your choice.” Mubo remarked, picking up the bag that Zhengting lost his grip on while screaming and crawling over to his boyfriend._

Zhengting didn’t see Mubo for a while after that night, but he swore to himself as he scrubbed the dried blood off of him from the events from that night, that he would make him pay for it. 

**So pay he shall.**

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Happy New Year! I’m guessing this depressing mess of a chapter is the last thing you want to ring in the new year with, but it explains a lot, I think. 
> 
> If you’re still kinda lost, here’s the pairs in the story.
> 
> Yanchen and Zeren (obvi romantically lol), Minghao and Xukun (platonically), Zhengting and Ziyi (romantically), Jieqiong and Chengxiao (I’ll let you figure this one out), Linong and Quanzhe (platonically), Chengcheng and Xiao Gui (platonically), Wenjun and ???, Zhou Rui and ???, Xinchun and ???, Yanjun and ???.
> 
> Anyways, I hope this is good enough for you guys, it’s a little on the dramatic side for me, but yanno.
> 
> Please keep giving me feedback! I’ve gotten so many messages on here, on twitter and on AO3 telling me they love this story and I love it! It makes me so happy! 
> 
> I hope you guys have a good new years!
> 
> Grace


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